Pearls

It was 70° at 10 am today so I was out early to take in a Paris ‘pearl’… Jardin Palais-Royal. I did not bring my sketchbook… because this garden is a real sketching nightmare, I’d be here all day!

Next pearl in my day was Paris, City of Pearls at L’École des Arts Joailliers / school of jewelry founded in 2012 by Van Cleef & Arpels. The exhibit, billed as ‘Paris, City of Pearls’ was a surprising title for me to understand because who thinks of Paris as a city of pearls. Here is how they tie it all together. Around 1900, it was the jewelers of Rue de la Paix, who first sought the finest pearls to pair with couture!

1890 necklace, natural pearls. The prime and most coveted pearls at this time were coming from the Persian Gulf region, an area noted for oyster pearl beds as early as the Renaissance.

1900 corsage, Mississippi pearls (a baroque variety shaped by Mississippi mussels) these unusual shapes were used by Lalique and others into Art Nouveau era.

Pearls were modernity in 1910s and the show featured the fashion plates shown here! Pearls at that time were coming to France from the Gulf region and Bahrain.

And, demand for pearls was strongest in the U.S. They included a story in the brochure that said Cartier acquired his mansion in New York City, 5th Avenue in exchange for a double strand pearl necklace of 65 and 73 pearls, respectively.

Cultured pearls from Japan became popular around 1925 primarily due availability, quality and price. There was also a decline of pearl fishing in the Gulf region due to harvesting practices. They state that with WW II the Gulf region pearl sourcing stopped and cultured pearls became the focus. Now, 21st century, there are renewed pearl initiatives between France and Gulf region.

There were many spectacular pearl jewelry pieces on display but they are very difficult to photograph, here are a few: